'Start and park' will be less lucrative

NASCAR changing purse allocation to discourage cars from starting and dropping out quickly

February 06, 2013

There will be new terms of engagement for "start-and-park" teams that clutter NASCAR the starting grid every week. The sport will reallocate prize money from the last five spots in the field, making it less appealing to run a few laps and then drop out of a race.

"We moved prize money higher in the purse so if someone's intent is solely to run a lap or two and park, the revenue stream shrinks," NASCAR President Mike Helton said Tuesday during an Autoweek panel discussion in Detroit.

Each position from 43rd through 39th will receive $4,000 less for each position in the official finish of a race. A driver finishing 39th will receive $4,000 less than the 38th-place driver, and so forth. Race purses will not be reduced, only reallocated.

Speedway Motorsports Inc. Chairman Bruton Smith and Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage recently labeled the start-and-park teams a disgrace. They have a lot of company regarding those sentiments.

"It's a joke for the race fans," Smith said during the Sprint NASCAR media tour.

Driving with the stars: So you think you can outrun Jimmie Johnson, Michael Waltrip, Kasey Kahne and Aric Almirola? You will get the chance Feb. 17, just hours before drivers attempt to qualify for the two top starting spots in the Daytona 500.

No need to bring your stock car to this event. Just sneakers.

The Central Florida Sports Commission and Daytona International Speedway, in partnership with Volusia County, will host the Daytona Beach Half Marathon, starting at 6:30 a.m. This will be the first time that the race will be staged during Budweiser Speedweeks.

Local runners will be joined by a handful of NASCAR drivers who like to chase speed by means other than racing a car.

"My wife and I really like to run and stay fit," Almirola said. "Sammy Johns, our director of competition at Richard Petty Motorsports, is really into running, triathlons and being competitive. So we all decided this was a perfect run to do."

No Bat-ride for Hendrick: Holy upset! It seems that Rick Hendrick won't be driving the Batmobile from the '60s Batman TV series any time soon.

Although Hendrick is a connoisseur of classic cars, he had no interest bidding on the 1966 Batmobile, which sold for $4.2 million at last month's Barrett-Jackson Collectible Car Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"Hell no, no sir," Hendrick told PRN Garage Pass. "What would I want with the Batmobile? And I'm a Batman fan but I wouldn't know what to do with that car. … I wouldn't have hauled that thing home if they gave it to me!"

Hendrick did buy several vehicles and spent well above $1 million. He uses some of the cars for business or his personal collection, and others to benefit assorted charities.